RomanPunks is a retrofuturistic, cyberpunk derivative world-building project inspired by fine art, history and the cryptopunk movement.
A total of 1,000 RomanPunk characters have been frozen in time and minted as Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum, WAX, Polygon and Algorand blockchains.
RomanPunk characters are comprised of commoners and famous individuals based on Roman history, art history and pop culture.
The basis for RomanPunk lore and backstories is exhaustively researched by history/sci-fi buff and co-founder, Punktavian.
All images are drawn by hand by woman artist and co-founder, Cleopunktra, without the aid of AI or generative tools.
RomanPunks came into existence through early minting on OpenSea, promoting on Twitter and building a Discord community through giveaways and engagement. The idea of a cyberpunk-derivative ‘RomanPunk’ theme was in our heads for years, but it was the success of the Cryptopunks that became the catalyst for project conception and launch.
After a hard working first 60 days spent networking and attracting new collectors to RomanPunks, our community had begun to flourish and sales increased. We began to offer our collectors an opportunity to battle their NFTs in a tournament bracket powered by dice rolls.
Encouraged by the tight knit community and the carbon-neutral blockchain with lightning fast and low cost transactions, we launched 'romanpunksio' collection on WAX Blockchain as the first step to expand the backstories of our RomanPunk characters and the baseline for future development of a card game.
RomanPunks integrated with Chainlink Labs to utilize VRF (Verified Randomness Function) to host a giveaway raffle for our holders. We developed a smart contract on Ethereum which guarantees true random number selection on chain and can be used for a wide range of functions that require random selection.
After much anticipation in the community, we released our first WAX NFT card 'pack' through the Neftyblocks platform, which sold out in less than a week.
We launched our Twitch channel and begun building an audience by offering numerous giveaways of WAX NFTs from our collection, as well as giving participants a chance to win RomanPunk ETH NFT airdrops for taking top spot at the end of the 'season'.
As firm believers in a metaverse future and land owners in The Sandbox, we undertook to build the RomanPunk Colosseum on 1x1 land and entered our experience "Gladiator Bloodsport" into a GameJam contest. We will continue to build the Colosseum into a PVP arena and social hub once The Sandbox offers creators the ability to do so.
Thanks to the user friendly tools offered by NeftyBlocks, we launched a comprehensive blending system on WAX, allowing our collectors to blend the common NFTs they earn in our Discord RPG up into Legendary famous NFTs through the use of blending 'coins' that can also be earned on the Discord as reward for helping to promote the RomanPunks project.
We launched the VX collection on Polygon. Each owner of an ETH NFT gets their voxel equivalent airdropped to them, and these NFTs can be redeemed for official NFTs on The Sandbox Marketplace once available.
All 1,000 original, unique 1:1 RomanPunk characters hand drawn by Cleopunktra and minted on OpenSea.
The RomanPunk WAX NFT Trading Card Fighter Pack Series II consists of 3 NFTs randomly selected from over 236 characters.
Upcoming plans for RomanPunks include:
Below is a comprehensive and searchable directory of all 1,000 RomanPunk Characters.
Born in 202 BC in Carthage, Zibqet is an illegitimate child of the Roman General Scipio Africanus. Her natural fighting talents brought her to the legion along with her sister Elissa. The two eventually went AWOL through a dimensional portal and flourished as vigilantes in a 22nd century dystopian megacity.
Born in 181 AD in Osaka, Ojin was a Samurai sent on an intelligence gathering mission to Rome who decided to stay and join the Roman legion in the fight against the rising Vampire and Zombie menace in Dacia.
Born 1113 AD in Cemenelum in an alternate steampunk dimension, Marina is a wreck diver and sailor on the Aqua Aeterna, the world’s first steam-powered submarine, whose mission is to find the lost city of Atlantis. Guided by the clues left by Plato and Seneca, the ship’s crew ventured into the Aztec Gulf, where Marina uncovered an interdimensional portal nestled on the ocean floor.
Born 30 AD in Augusta Vindelicorum, Otto is a famous drinking gladiator who triumphed in the Bacchalian games of Titus for being the only contestant to complete the centurion challenge: one hundred tankards in one hundred minutes.
Born in 295 AD in Tarraco, Spain, Sisera Hispaniola, a convicted murderer, was sent to the gladiator pits as punishment, where he found great success. Fearing his rise in popularity, Emperor Constantine had Sisera thrust into a dimensional portal where he continued to dominate the colosseum in a distant future timeline.
Born in 249 AD in Colonia, Hartwin Diefenbaker is a lowly soldier from the Alemanni tribe who, when facing defeat at the Battle of Lake Benacus, cowardly fled into the nearby woods only to be taken and experimented on by aliens.
Born 2488 AD in Ancyra, Draven comes from a long line of notorious highfalutin slave traders. He uses advanced telescopic lenses to scout his victims interdimensionally, then dispatches time traffickers through a portal to kidnap them as slaves for his base entertainment empire of lewd karaoke clubs, casinos, and virtual brothels in 26th century AD Neo-Byzantium. Charismatic yet ruthless, Draven’s influence extends back to ancient Galatia, long a haven for the effete elite, including covert colonialist cyborgs.
Born 397 AD in Pompaelo and raised by bullfighters, Becky was kidnapped and pressed into service by Vandal invaders. While investigating the Temple of Alcántara, she was transported to an alternate dimension in a mid-21st century AD postapocalyptic wasteland.
Born in 185 BC in Alexandria, Raad is a dimension-hopping temple guard equipped with high tech defensive equipment to protect the treasures of the pharaohs from time looters and tourists.
Born 49 AD in Virunum, Valentin is a common soldier and timid husband of Acca who lived in the shadow of his wife until she was killed defending Emperor Domitian from assassins; henceforth, Valentin vowed revenge on those responsible for her death.
Born 150 BC in Pella, Myrta, daughter of the last independent king of Macedon, boldly claims lineage from the mother of Alexander the Great. Emulating her tyrannical father, the pretender known as ‘Pseudo-Philip’, Myrta leads a mysterious cult with interdimensional powers, summoning extraterrestrial beings to aid her quest of terror and repression to reclaim her ‘ancestral’ Macedonian throne.
Born 1989 AD in Damascus, Raya is a rebellious teenage genius who fled the chaotic and oppressive 21st century AD by reciting ancient incantations at the Temple of Bel in Palmyra, which opened an interdimensional portal to the 3rd century AD. Now she is living her dream as a style consultant for the Empress Zenobia.
Born 25 BC in Tavium, Nyssa is a skilled seamstress and reveled in creating elaborate costumes for herself and others to wear at masked soirees. She was known for her ethereal beauty and her ability to transform into any character – past, present or future.
Born 88 AD in Frisia, Tilly witnessed the death of her parents by the orders of Trajan. With the help of a sympathetic centurion, she crossed dimensions learning the art of revenge.
Born in 242 AD in Mediolanum, Alexa Servilianus quickly rose through the ranks of Emperor Aurelian’s legion in Germany after stepping into a dimension portal in Lake Como and returning equipped and skilled with the lightsaber.
